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Knowing how to best understand and guide your baby’s behaviour can be challenging. Luckily there are lots of positive strategies out there to help you and your baby through!
What is discipline?
Discipline can play an important role in helping support your baby to learn about their world and how to explore it safely.
During the early years, discipline can work a little differently than later in life.
Here are some helpful tips about discipline to keep in mind:
- Discipline is not meant to be punitive or punishing - rather it's designed to be a positive way to help guide positive behaviour
- It is built upon a loving and caring relationship between you and your baby
- Your approach will depend on your baby’s age and temperament
- Testing boundaries and exploring outcomes of different actions are a natural part of learning for babies - we all have to start somewhere!
- With your gentle guidance and modelling, your baby will grow and learn how to regulate their own feelings and behaviours in a positive way
Understanding your baby’s behaviour
Taking time to understand how your baby learns about their world and how they express their needs can help you choose how to guide them.
- Discipline works best when it is kept simple, warm and supportive
- Not only does punishing or using negative consequences with babies not work, it can be harmful to their health, growth and development
- Babies do not understand ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ just yet and can’t think ahead, so when they are tugging at your hair, try to remember they are just testing things out, not trying to be hurtful!
- At this age, discipline is more about supporting them to begin to understand, manage and express their feelings safely
- When it comes to toddlers (one year and up), they are often curious and test out their surroundings through touch, making a mess, and making mistakes
- Toddlers start to understand more about cause and effect, however they are still learning to express their emotions. This may come across as a tantrum, or doing things to get a reaction - patience is a virtue here!
Tips on guiding your baby’s behaviour with positive parenting
Your baby’s behaviour is a way for them to express their emotions, needs, and is how they learn.
Here are some simple and positive ways you can respond that can help meet their needs and guide their behaviour:
- Positive attention goes a long way - praise your baby, encourage them to try again, give warmth and affection
- Try to stay patient and calm - remember that testing is a normal part of learning
- Plan ahead for difficult situations eg. shopping in short bursts and at quiet times
- Distraction can be helpful for toddlers eg. instead of saying "don’t touch that", you could say "here is that toy you like"
- Warm and positive responses will help your baby feel safe and loved
You are not alone
If you need some extra support with how to support your baby at this age, there are lots of options available to you.
Here are some ways to start getting the support you need:
- Talk to a counsellor for emotional support or to discuss strategies
- Reach out to a friend or a family member for advice
- Contact your GP if your baby’s behaviour is concerning you
- Parenting programs like Triple P – Positive Parenting Program
Parentline is here for you
We understand that it can be hard to know which approach would work best for you and your baby.
We’re here to help! If you want to explore different positive parenting strategies that could best suit your baby at this age, give us a call on 1300 30 1300 (QLD & NT) and speak to one of our trained counsellors.
Not living in QLD or NT? Check out this list of Parentline Counselling services in each state or territory.
"Remember to take time out for yourself! The more relaxed you are, so are the kids"
- Belle, Parentline Counsellor
This content was last reviewed 09/05/2018
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